Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore farmers’ intention to stay under a quality certification scheme, and the factors that impact this intention. Design/methodology/approach – Combining the agricultural household approach with the value concept, the paper analyses farmers’ intention using field research data. The improvements farmers observe after certification are viewed as utilities the farm household derives, which have an impact on farmers’ intention. These improvements are located as “enablers” and “results” in the EFQM Excellence Model to better explain the findings. Findings – Farmers’ intention tends to be positive, and impacted by five improvements. These are located in both the enablers and results fields, implying that farmers’ intention is holistically shaped. Furthermore, eight characteristics of the farm and farm household, and four sources of information, shift farmers’ intention. Research limitations/implications – Since farmers’ intention is examined independently of the quality standards that each one implements, future research should account for the impact of these differences. It should also examine the impact of various policy measures on farmers’ intention. Since analysis assumes a linear relationship, future research should introduce a more complex model, possibly in structural form. Practical implications – Public authorities should make the maintenance of quality certification more attractive, especially for segments without strong intention. Certifiers should adjust their audit services to enhance value; and players in the food supply chain should consider the drivers of farmers’ intention when building marketing strategies. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge, there are no extant studies exploring farmers’ intention to maintain certification. In addition, the paper proposes a novel theoretical framework, which should also be used in cases where quality-related changes in enterprises impact the income and quality of life of the enterprise owners, for instance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore farmers’ intentions to engage in food brand development schemes and identify the factors that impact this. Design/methodology/approach By assuming the utility maximization behavior of farmers, based on data collected from 539 fruit and vegetable producers, this study estimates an intention to participate and a willingness to pay model. Findings Three groups of factors determine the utility the farmers derive and subsequently their engagement in brand development. Farm business characteristics include farmers’ age, the attainment of quality certification and cultivated area, while psychological factors include farmers’ attitudes toward local reflections of the brand, perceptions regarding the need for farm business external support and consumers’ interest, as well as farmers’ commitment to quality requirements. Farmers’ strategies related to the share of products sold by cooperatives and to individually use the brand also determine their engagement in a brand development scheme. Research limitations/implications Future research should distinguish producers according to the marketing channel they choose and their industry, and explore the intentions of intermediate marketers. Practical implications Marketing cooperatives should undertake initiatives to develop local brands effectively, taking into consideration the factors that impact farmers’ engagement, while food marketing firms should properly adapt their purchasing and promotion strategies. Public authorities should formulate a policy mix that enhances farmers’ knowledge related to marketing issues and encourages farmers to strengthen their positions in the marketplace. Originality/value The research reveals a strategic proactive behavior of farmers favoring the development of local brands, and provides insights into the factors that impact farmers’ adoption decisions.

This chapter portrays the information flow for sustainability issues along the globalized food supply chain and explores the eco-certification decisions of farm businesses, viewing them as the first upstream chain participant. This examination is based on the literature to connect eco-certification with transparency and to portray traceability schemes for sustainability issues in food supply chains, followed by information technology-based systems and applications supporting traceability. The third section presents the eco-certification decisions at the supply chain level in four subsections. It first builds a theoretical framework regarding the downstream firms' sustainability-related decisions by offering conceptual definitions. Next the farm business decision logic is given, followed by the discrete choice model. The specialization of the model is presented in the third subsection, followed by the results, discussions, and implications for practitioners. Some conclusions and implications for future research are offered in the last section.

This study examines whether the implementation of a quality management system (QMS) and the choice of a certain quality assurance scheme (QAS) were decided as responses by fruit and vegetable producers to market conditions, separating certification decisions into two components. A survey study is conducted and two discrete choice models are estimated: ordered logit for the implementation of QMS and binary probit for the choice of QAS. It is found that the buyers' demand for certification and the efforts of farmers to differentiate their products from others in an area that may present local quality problems lead farm businesses to accelerate QMS implementation. Regarding the choice of a private QAS, it is a market-driven decision. The conclusion is that certifications are characterised by a market-driven approach and the increased interest in certified products can lead to the diffusion of certification. Because the absence of information provision and the controls exerted by public authorities have an impact on QMS implementation, the diffusion of certification depends also on public policy measures, indicating the crucial role of a public policy mix properly designed to promote certification.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is mainly to investigate how Greek Farmers perceive service quality provided by the Greek Ministry of Agriculture and secondly, to confirm the five quality dimensions proposed by the SERVQUAL instrument for the Ministry’s service. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire based on the SERVQUAL scale, was used to determine farmers’ perceptions of service quality in the area of central Macedonia in Greece. A total of 245 completed questionnaires were collected. Findings – The analysis has shed some light on the quality gaps for the services provided by the Greek Public sector, suggesting that there is scope for improvement strategies. The results revealed a three-dimensional structure instead of the five dimensions of the SERVQUAL instrument. “Social skills” of the human factor were revealed as being the most critical dimension of quality. Practical implications – This paper provides guidelines for policymakers to develop strategies to identify service quality gaps, while the decrease of such gaps could result in the public services’ improvement. Originality/value – The current study is the first attempt to measure farmers’ perceptions of the service provided by the Greece ministry of Rural Development and Food. Secondly, this study provides additional evidence that the modification of the SERVQUAL scale could be used in different service sectors and cultures.